The home wine making industry is ever growing in popularity. More and more people are learning the benefits of making their own wine, in terms of lower cost and the satisfaction of creating something unique and enjoyable. Whether it is done at home or at a commercial establishment, the basic steps in home winemaking are largely the same.
One step in the process is to stir the wine within the carboy after the fermentation stage. A vigorous stirring of the wine gets rid of solution CO.sub.2 trapped within the wine in the carboy. Removing the gas greatly enhances the bouquet of the finished wine and is thus an important step in the process.
Unfortunately, despite the importance of this step, the most common method of stirring the wine is to simply use a long stick or a shaved down spoon and manually stirring the wine. This has proven to be a time consuming means of achieving the desired amount of stir. The small cross-section of the stick or the shaved down spoon may not always ensure that the liquid is completely stirred and, if stirred too aggressively, the spoon or stick is prone to break.
Other solutions to the problem have included the use of metal fins or the like attached to a slender rod whereby the fins mix the liquid when the rod is rotated. For example, the applicant is aware of a product marketed by PYI Innovative in association with the trade-mark FIZZ-X which incorporates this design. The effectiveness of this product is limited, however, due to its design since the fins may not separate from the rod in the proper orientation, thus requiring the user to stop rotating the rod, remove the device and adjust the fins. Further, the use of metal fins increases the risk of damage to the neck or the inside of the carboy during rotation of the rod. These limitations have been specifically addressed by the present applicant.
Other stirring devices known to the applicant do not integrate the necessary features to achieve the desired stirring of the liquid within the carboy or container. Reference may be had, for example, to Canadian Patent 960,609 of Aubry, Dispositif Pour Le Conditionnment et La Distribution De Produits, Comprenant Un Organe De Brassage, issued Jan. 7, 1975 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,326,533 of Sturrup, Nail Polish Stirrer, issued Jun. 20, 1967.